memeorandum: U.S. Department of State (Brian Hook/US Department of State)

3:15 PM ET, July 3, 2018

Top Items:

Corky Siemaszko / NBC News:

Powerful GOP Rep. Jim Jordan accused of turning blind eye to sexual abuse as Ohio State wrestling coach — “At the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn't know what was going on,” a former Ohio State wrestler said. — Rep. Jim Jordan, the powerful Republican congressman from Ohio …

Grant Stern / Washington Press:
A top anti-Mueller Republican Congressman was just hit with a teen boy sexual abuse scandal

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and MSNBC

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:

NBC News poll: Most want vote on Trump Supreme Court nominee before midterms — The survey also found most Democrats and independents said the next justice should be moderate, while 65 percent of Republicans want a conservative. — A majority of Americans believe the Republican-led Senate …

Discussion: Center for Public Integrity, Rasmussen Reports, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, National Review, Conservative Review, Axios and SCOTUSblog

Dennis Romboy / Deseret News:

Trump interviews Sen. Mike Lee about Supreme Court opening — SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump interviewed Utah Sen. Mike Lee on Monday about the coming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, the Deseret News has learned. — Lee, who is in Utah, confirmed the telephone interview but would not elaborate on the conversation.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., Conservative Review, The Daily Caller and Bloomberg

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
What the Supreme Court battle suggests about culture wars

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Common Dreams and Politico

Hugh Hewitt / Washington Post:
Here's who Trump should pick for the Supreme Court

Discussion: ABC News, Hot Air, Refinery29, Politico and The Hill

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Trump Isn't Remaking The Supreme Court. Leonard Leo Is.

Discussion: AOL, BloombergQuint and Common Dreams

David Lat / Above the Law:
The Supreme Court Sweepstakes: The Latest State Of Play — And The Case For Judge Kavanaugh

Discussion: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal and Instapundit

David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:
Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a potential Supreme Court nominee, has defended overturning precedents

Discussion: National Review, Real Clear Politics, IJR and Breitbart

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump: ‘If not for me,’ United States would be at war with North Korea — President Trump said Tuesday that the United States would be at war with North Korea without his efforts and that conversations with the nation's leaders are “going well” — an assessment at odds with recent reports …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Mediaite, The White House, One America News Network and Breitbart

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump plans one-on-one meeting with Putin

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Towleroad

New York Times:

Trump Administration Reverses Obama on Affirmative Action — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will encourage the nation's school superintendents and college presidents to adopt race-blind admissions standards, abandoning an Obama administration policy that called on universities …

Discussion: National Review, Axios, Politico, New Republic, Associated Press, Above the Law, The Root, Joe.My.God., The Week, Political Wire and Althouse

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Top Justice Department Lawyer Resigns, Latest To Step Down — Scott Schools, a top aide to the deputy attorney general, is planning to leave the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with his decision. — The job title for Schools — associate deputy attorney general …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo and Big League Politics

Michelle Hackman / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration to Rescind Obama Guidelines on Race in College Admissions

Discussion: CNN, Hit & Run, Power Line, Jezebel, HuffPost, IJR, The Daily Caller, neo-neocon, KTLA and CNBC

Washington Post:

Ex-congressional IT staffer reaches plea deal that debunks conspiracy theories about illegal information access — Federal prosecutors concluded an 18-month investigation into a former congressional technology staffer on Tuesday by publicly debunking allegations — promoted by conservative media …

Discussion: Gizmodo, Raw Story, twitchy.com and Townhall

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Ex-Dem IT staffer slammed by Trump pleads guilty to bank fraud

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Breitbart

Jessica Schneider / CNN:
Ex-House staffer, subject of conspiracy theories, pleads guilty to bank fraud charge

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios and Roll Call

Emily Holden / Politico:

Pruitt ally decides which of his records see the light of day — EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt placed a former political fundraising ally in charge of an office that has been slow to release his most sensitive documents — including details about his meetings with industry lobbyists …

Washington Post:
Pruitt aides reveal new details of his spending and management at EPA

Discussion: Vox, Splinter, New York Times, The Week, CNN, CNBC, Mediaite, HuffPost, Daily Kos, IJR, New Republic and Axios

CNN:
Whistleblower: EPA's Pruitt kept secret calendar to hide meetings

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Joe.My.God., AOL, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Kristin Mink:
EPA head Scott Pruitt was 3 tables away as I ate lunch with my child.

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

New York Times Reassigns Reporter in Leak Case — Ali Watkins, the New York Times reporter whose email and phone records were secretly seized by the Trump administration, will be transferred out of the newspaper's Washington bureau and reassigned to a new beat in New York, The Times said on Tuesday.

Discussion: Townhall, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
New York Times reassigns reporter who dated Senate intelligence staffer at center of FBI probe

Discussion: twitchy.com

NBC News:

New Trump admin order for separated parents: Leave U.S. with kids or without them — Rights advocates say the new directive prevents migrant parents who were separated from their kids under zero tolerance from asking for asylum in the U.S. — WASHINGTON — Following a court order to reunite …

Discussion: Boing Boing and Joe.My.God.

emptywheel:

Putting a Face (Mine) to the Risks Posed by GOP Games on Mueller Investigation — I'd like to put a human face — my own — to the risk posed by GOP gamesmanship on the Mueller investigation. — Sometime last year, I went to the FBI and provided information on a person whom I had come …

Discussion: Power Line, more at Mediagazer »

Decatur Daily:

Triple homicide leaves ex-wife dead after protection request denied — Before she and two others were shot dead near Ardmore on Sunday, Debra Ann Rivera twice had asked a judge to order her ex-husband to surrender his guns because of alleged abuse. — The request was denied both times.

Discussion: Raw Story

Ruth Graham / Slate:

Amy Coney Barrett Is Allegedly a Member of a Religious Group That's Been Called a “Cult” — Amy Coney Barrett, now a judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, became a heroic figure to some religious conservatives during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Politico and NewsBusters

Paul Crookston / Washington Free Beacon:
MSNBC Analyst Falsely Claims Potential SCOTUS Nominee Has ‘Hate Group’ Ties

Discussion: Townhall, twitchy.com and National Review

San Francisco Chronicle:

SF's appalling street life repels residents — now it's driven away a convention — In a move that is alarming San Francisco's biggest industry, a major medical association is pulling its annual convention out of the city — saying its members no longer feel safe.

Ryan Gaydos / Fox News:

Walmart boycott campaign launched after outcry over ‘Impeach 45’ clothing — Walmart has found itself on the receiving end of a torrent of outrage after it was discovered Monday that the superstore was selling anti-Trump “Impeach 45” apparel on its website.

Discussion: Walmart.com, Daily Wire, WQAD-TV, Conservative News Today, Mashable, abc7.com, CBS Denver, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Chicks On The Right

Raina Lipsitz / The Nation:

Chuck Schumer's Brooklyn No-Show — Constituents held an impromptu rally and vented their anger at a cardboard cutout of the senator. — On Monday evening, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was scheduled to host a town hall at his reform synagogue, Congregation Beth Elohim (CBE) …

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, New York Times and Daily Kos

CBS Philly:

Protests Turn Violent As Demonstrators Arrested In Front Of Philadelphia ICE Building — PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Protests turned violent as activists were taken into custody on the streets of Philadelphia on Tuesday as they were calling for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Alex Pareene / Splinter:

Haim Saban Is Bad For Democracy — Last month, twelve Democratic senators signed a letter from the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking the Trump administration “to do more to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.”

TMZ.com:

Kevin Spacey Investigated for 3 New Sexual Assaults in London — Kevin Spacey is now being investigated for 6 sexual assaults in London ... after 3 new men have come forward with allegations against the actor. — According to the Metropolitan Police ... a man came to them in April claiming …

Burgess Everett / Politico:

'I'd like to kill ‘em’: GOP takes on Trump tariffs — Republican lawmakers are losing their patience with the president's trade war, saying it's hurting their states and the party's chances in the midterms. — Republican senators are at their breaking point with Donald Trump's protectionist trade blitz.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

Scott MacFarlane / NBC4 Washington:

Man Assaulted Secret Service Officer Outside White House After Immigration Rally: Feds — A U.S. Secret Service officer was injured in an assault while on patrol outside the White House on Saturday shortly after the major immigration rally in Lafayette Park, according to newly filed federal court records.

Discussion: Conservative News Today

Dan Primack / Axios:

Trump's tweet on Harley-Davidson doesn't hold up — President Trump on Tuesday escalated his war of words with U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, which recently announced plans to move some manufacturing overseas because of tariffs. — Now that Harley-Davidson is moving part …

Discussion: CNBC, Politico, ThinkProgress, Associated Press and MSNBC

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

Secret ‘Roe v. Wade’ Film Now Shooting in New Orleans (Exclusive) — Nick Loeb, famous for battling ex Sofia Vergara over frozen embryos, is co-directing a pro-life story of the landmark Supreme Court case, with a cast including conservative stars Jon Voight, Robert Davi and Stacey Dash.

Discussion: Louder With Crowder and Daily Wire

Kate Irby / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Congressman denied entry to California detention facility for children under age 14 — PLEASANT HILL — The cry of a child could be heard just inside the nondescript, brown detention facility in Pleasant Hill, California, a San Francisco suburb, and Rep. Jeff Denham wanted to see for himself what was inside.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo